Originally posted on June 7, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Over the past few months I have written from time to time some things I learned as I looked at Psalm 40. I came across this psalm while I was having a panic attack. I first started suffering from them in May…probably as a post traumatic stress response to some very hard situations that I and my family had been enduring for quite sometime ( See “Transitions” in the column on the left). I have decided to re-post them starting with part one.
Scripture References;
I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD. Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O LORD, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation. Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me. For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me. Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me: O LORD, make haste to help me. Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil. Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha. Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified. But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God. Psalm 40 KJV
Recently I have been struggling with fear. Last Saturday morning I was running some errands with my husband and I began to struggle again. The panic attacks would come and go. I was sitting in the van while my husband went in the post office and I pulled out one of those pocket sized New Testaments that also have the Psalms, and decided to read for a few minutes. I came across Psalm 40. It was such a comfort to me. That evening I just had to read it again. I thought I might examine it verse by verse and share what comes to me. I have spent the last 2 days on verses 1-4. I hope to continue in the upcoming days, and have decided to break it into parts. Below is Part “one”.
1I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Well, it is hard to know how the Lord measures patience, but I have been waiting a lot lately (especially these last couple of weeks), not by virtue of being one who is characterized by patience, but I have been waiting, because the Lord has put me in a place where I don’t really have much choice. I have also been doing some crying. Now I didn’t look up “cry” to see what the Hebrew meaning was. It might have meant “calling out” or “sobbing” or “both”. I have done both and sometimes both at the same time…Enough about me. The Lord “inclined unto David”, and as I prayerfully read this psalm I felt like the Lord inclined to me, and heard my cry, too. I believe He does this for all who call on Him.
2He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
Now this verse really comforts me. I can visualize a pit with slimy sides, and how helpless and afraid one would be if they were in one. One can stumble and fall in one, or an enemy could capture you and throw you in one. As I read on through the rest of the Psalm David spoke of both enemies and his own iniquities. Often times we find ourselves wondering about difficult and scary situations in which we find ourselves. Sometimes they are the result of our own sin, sometimes they are forms of persecution as a result of our obedience, but a lot of times we just aren’t sure because even on our best day we still sin. That is why I am so thankful that Christians today have much in common with so many of God’s people who are written about in the Bible. We must not forget that Jesus was the only one who never sinned.
The Lord also set David’s feet on a rock. He will also do this for us when we call on Him if we have placed our saving faith in Him. We cannot sink into a rock. Look at John 10:29: “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” His hand is as solid as a rock. In fact one of His names is “The Rock”, and the Bible teaches that not only is He in believers, but believers are also in Him…so “His Hand” is “The Rock”. The enemy may slap us around a little, but he cannot pluck us out of the Father’s hand. In fact as soon as we are saved the Lord Himself places us in His hand, and there we forever reside:
4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-7 KJV
This is something He alone does. To me this describes the nature of salvation. Where our walk is concerned, we can find ourselves in various kinds of pits, but like David, we can cry out to the Lord and at the time the Lord thinks is best He will lift us out of them.
The Lord established David’s goings, and he has established the goings of all his children.
3And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
As I read this I find myself asking the question, “What kind of song did he have in his mouth while he was in the pit?” Well, it sounds like it wasn’t a praise song; maybe it was a sad song he was pouring out in despair to the Lord. David’s tune was changed, and David didn’t change it. It says that “God” put a new song in his mouth…and as a result, “many” “have” seen it, and feared and trusted in the Lord. The Lord can do the same for us and the effect will be the same when He does it. Even if it happens when you think you are alone, you really aren’t; you are surrounded by a cloud of many witnesses who already trust the Lord, and I’m sure they will rejoice.
4Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
“Blessed”…I looked this word up in my Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to see what the Hebrew meaning of that word was as it was used in that particular verse. It said that it meant “happy” and often was used as an interjection.
“maketh the LORD his trust”… “maketh” is a word in this phrase that interests me. If we “maketh” then we DO have a choice in whom we will trust, but only those who choose to trust the “LORD” will be be happy.
“and respecteth not the proud”…God is Love or “Charity” (1John 4:16), and love is not proud or “puffed up” ( 1 Corinthians 13:4). Whenever we start to water down our trust in the Lord, so it is partly in the Lord and partly in someone or something else (including self, that old “arm of the flesh”), we have ceased to trust in the Lord, and have become a respecter of proud things. When that happens the Lord will have to re-educate us so we will remember that trusting in mixtures is futile, and that all glory and honor and “respect” are to be given to Him, and Him alone.
“nor such as turn aside to lies”…there are so many lies that God’s children can be tricked into believing. Satan loves to tell them. There is no way that I could list them all, so instead I will focus on the fact that another one of Christ’s titles or names is “The Truth”, We should be so thankful for that. If we have received the Lord, the Truth resides in our hearts, but our minds need to be renewed daily, so the truth will be present in our thoughts, too. Paul advised the believers at Rome to: “ Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.(Romans 12:2 HCSB)…so the opposite of “turning aside to lies” is obviously to turn to the Savior, and allow our minds to be renewed through prayer and study of the Bible, the word of truth.
Do you know Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord? Please click on “Very Important Words” on the left margin of this page and make sure.
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Debbie said,
November 27, 2010 at 9:04 pm
I’m so glad that God has given you this assignment. So beautiful and it all spoke to me. The miry clay, the horrible pit . . .He reminded me of this when I was having trouble with patience, trouble understanding why someone just wasn’t believing Him and coming to Him. He reminded me of that pit and it helped me to be more patient and understanding. I was there.
And I loved the part about the new song, that the great cloud of witnesses may be the only ones that hear it. 🙂 That really blessed me! Sometimes in the still of the night or early morning He will reveal or drop an understanding into my heart and it sings. 🙂
Thank you Theresa! You are a song unto Him! deb
Moore to ponder said,
November 27, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Deb,
I know what it is like to love someone with all of your heart and watch that person stumble… turn away. That was a contributing factor in my attacks. It made me cry last night, but you and I both understand that the Lord knows and loves those lost sheep even more than we do. He also sees every tear that falls. Thank you so much for sharing this with me. We can pray for each other…for those dear loved ones. Here are two songs that I was going to post at the end of this series. I just can’t help myself; I have to post them. When I turned to the 2nd song it had Psalm 40:3 under the title!
The Solid Rock
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.
Refrain
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
Refrain
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
Refrain
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
Refrain
He Keeps Me Singing
There’s within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still,
In all of life’s ebb and flow.
Refrain
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Sweetest Name I know,
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go.
All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,
Discord filled my heart with pain,
Jesus swept across the broken strings,
Stirred the slumbering chords again.
Refrain
Feasting on the riches of His grace,
Resting ’neath His sheltering wing,
Always looking on His smiling face,
That is why I shout and sing.
Refrain
Though sometimes He leads through waters deep,
Trials fall across the way,
Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep,
See His footprints all the way.
Refrain
Soon He’s coming back to welcome me,
Far beyond the starry sky;
I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown,
I shall reign with Him on high.
Refrain
Love,
Theresa
Debbie said,
November 28, 2010 at 12:29 am
Thank you so much for understanding! 🙂 and praying! and for the songs! They are just perfect and blessed me so much. I’m glad you couldn’t wait! 🙂 love, deb
Teresa said,
November 28, 2010 at 1:57 am
Hello! I just discovered your blog today and this is the first post I read. I was thinking today and talking to God about how something that happened to me recently had to have some element of my responsibility in it. I was betrayed, very cruelly and lies told about me to many friends by another Christian. Someone I considered a good friend. This was one of the most hurtful times I have experienced lately, but I have been going over the conversation I had with this person trying to “figure out” why this happened and if I had any part in sinning during it. I read this statement “Sometimes they are the result of our own sin, sometimes they are forms of persecution as a result of our obedience, but a lot of times we just aren’t sure because even on our best day we still sin” I want you to know this post was such an encouragement and confirmation for me that God is indeed using this trial to bring Him glory, and He will comfort me and shelter me, even when I am in a pit, of my own making or otherwise. Now onto part two! God bless you and I love your blog!
Moore to ponder said,
November 28, 2010 at 3:11 am
Teresa,
I am so glad you were encouraged, and I am so sorry that you are going through such a painful trial. It helps me to think about the unsearchable riches we have in Christ…mercy, grace, wisdom, peace and love.
I am praying that the Lord would draw you even closer to Him during this time that He will heal your wounds, strengthen you, and guide you, so that He will be glorified in this situation.
Theresa
Teresa said,
November 28, 2010 at 3:33 am
God bless you Theresa, thank you so much for your kind words and prayer. These are the same things I have been praying for, I know God is working in this situation, why He lead me to your lovely blog. Thank you so much for your encouragement.
Moore to ponder said,
December 15, 2010 at 11:43 pm
I have thought of you often this past week and have also enjoyed reading your blog. I hope things are looking a little brighter.
Theresa
bendedspoon said,
November 29, 2010 at 3:48 am
This is just what I need — continuous renewal of my mind
that I may be transformed according to His will
and not let those tears fall each time I remember the pain
but praise Him so much more.
I still have a long way to go but I can take it a step at a time — patiently.
🙂
Moore to ponder said,
November 29, 2010 at 4:18 am
Rea,
You are right…it can take a long time to heal. Jesus is patient and He helps us to be patient. Tears are a strange thing. Sometimes it makes us feel better to cry. It can help us to cast our cares on the Lord. Then there are other times when they just make our eyes swollen and we get a horrible head ache.
They say that this was the shortest verse in the Bible:
“Jesus wept.” John11:35
He loves us so much. I am so glad that the Lord has granted you courage, and patience. I am going to pray that the Lord will wipe away that pain and those tears, and give you more joy. Oh that reminds me of another passage of scripture!
“I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30:1-5
I hope this helps us all. 🙂
Love,
Theresa
bendedspoon said,
November 29, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Today I learn about the shortest verse in the Bible but it says so much.
Jesus wept. The almighty God wept just like us. That’s why He knows how we are feeling when we are in pain and what needs to be done — not necessarily stop it all at once but to proceed with the process of healing and growing in faith. Is that why all come out shining after following Him?
Thank you Theresa for blessing me always! Love you!
🙂
Moore to ponder said,
November 29, 2010 at 3:35 pm
You say things so well! 🙂
Love,
Theresa